This article is about the use of invective while attempting to do apologetics or teaching discernment. Invective is defined as a noun: insulting, abusive, or highly critical language ie. "he let out a stream of invective". I admit to using invective at times in the past. My goal is to stop that practice and focus on the facts, not attack an individual's ability to comprehend.

In the case of Christians, the first thing to consider when doing apologetics is our mandate to reconcile people to Christ, no matter who they are.

2 Cor. 5:18-21 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

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Finally finishing the book that began as a project many years ago. I can say I have a better grasp than I did before, but no one can define and explain his statements or teaching and practices fully because of who he was. And I certainly do not mean to imply him as the prophet, the 7th messenger to the church. For he was lost in mysticism. I easily recognized the mysticism and occultism that I was familiar with before I became a believer reading a few of his pamphlets and books in the late 80's which made me first aware of his influence. He is one of the first, and may be the most prolific new age prophet. Branham had a new age message that was couched in Christian terms and practices. He was not interpreting nor teaching the Bible the way it was written.

In the history of modern healing ministries one person stands out more than any other, William Branham. Over fifty years after his death there are few men that continue to influence the Church and today's modern healing ministries. Branham's influence is more extensive today than in his day when he was alive. William Branham is the main influence for the Latter Rain movement in the late 1940's that infected so many Pentecostals. He left us the legacy of the healing revivals and signs and wonders, he is also one of the primary sources of the "river" that is flowing today that is the resurgence of the Latter Rain movement. Many are satisfied with his exhibition of words of knowledge and miraculous power without knowing what he really believed. Branham vehemently denied the Trinity and adopted his own unique modalistic view from the Oneness Pentecostals. Revived heresies in the early church (modalism, adoptionism) that were dealt with at the beginning were introduced. He claimed Jesus never said He was the Son of God, nor Jewish, nor that Jesus was truly human. He believed the prophets were all gods. He taught that God in all ages had skin on him - even before the incarnation. That it was the Angel of the Lord whom he assumed was Jesus teaching and leading Branham to have visions and do miracles. He believed from his experience[s] that he was the forerunner, Elijah the prophet, the prophet as the 7th angel to the church Branham taught that Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) was a sexual sin,with the serpent, who is Satan. That Cain was the offspring of their illicit affair (known as the serpent seed doctrine). He believed in three Bibles; the Scripture, the Zodiac and the pyramids, built by Enoch with atomic power were all revelations of God, Branham was deep into mysticism, and used metaphysical resources, Gnosticism to explain the Bible This book addresses the preexistence of man, word faith theology, dominionism of the Garden, manifest sons of God teaching, man is god. Errors on the nature of God, The logos was made, and man was made by the logos in heaven before coming to earth. What you will find in this book is that so many of the errors Branham taught and practiced are adopted and have become the errors in the church today.

Divination: any attempt to foretell the unknown by occult means. It is very clear that the God of the Bible strictly forbids all forms of divination. This includes all forms of mediumship, channeling, witchcraft [Wicca], occultism, psychic, fortune telling, tarot cards, reading tea leaves, etc. Divination is forbidden by God because it unlocks the door to the world of the demonic and spiritual deception. Leviticus 19:31 - Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 20:6 - And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. 1 Samuel 15:23 - For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. Divination also includes forms of Contemplative Centering Prayer whereby contact with the spirit world [demonic] can easily be made. This occult prayer method [which many Christianize] can and does oftentimes lead to the full conversion of ones spirituality to a pantheistic, panentheistic, Eastern occult view of reality. This form of prayer divination places into the minds of humans ideas that are not only unbiblical, but thoroughly occult and antichrist. The Self-induction and alteration of ones consciousness [into the Alpha-state], which so often is engaged in by undiscerning people, can quickly lead to full blown spirit contact, "snapping", and even demonic possession. Thorough documentation is abounding in Indian Yogic Spirituality; Self-Realization cults, etc. The following list clearly shows the may ways that divination has been practiced throughout the ages.

The Bible tells us God who is omniscient in His nature sees all and knows all. Therefore he would remember all. All the works we have done in Christ will be rewarded on that day, and all the works of the flesh will be burnt up and not follow us into our eternal state. All the New Testament doctrines point to the one who made the new covenant will be the judge of all, the Son of God sent from heaven, who is Jesus Christ. He remembers in fairness and is perfectly just in his judgments. At the Bema seat judgment Jesus judges our works, not our eternal destination which is already settled. It's an evaluation of our works in Christ, where we get rewarded for doing what is good in life, what we did for him. In fact he knows many things that we do not, the injustices we did without thinking and the ones that were done against us that unthinking or were purposeful. He also knows our attempts to reconcile and the people that refuse to enter into any process and continue to do harm. There is only so much we can do to make things right. It is up to the other party to respond in the correct way. As Jesus said where there are two or three gathered in his name. Which means they are willing make things right. Sometimes Christians can be no different than those who live in the world for themselves, "the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." (James 4:5-6) Anyone who has lived long enough knows the way of the world, our life does not always go the way we expect. There is no yellow brick road for the Christian, only a narrow road for the pilgrims of this world, and it is difficult, we can suffer like anyone else. So while on earth we work, and it not for naught for we are rewarded. Not that the reward is our motivation otherwise it is for nothing. We work and do what is written because we love him and want to be with him and our brothers and sisters in the future kingdom He will bring to earth. That is such a great hope that will soon be realized.

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